A True Story: Sylvia Acevedo

The following is a true story adapted from the book Nuestra América: 30 Inspiring Latinas/Latinos Who Have Shaped the United States, written by Sabrina Vourvoulias and illustrated by Gloria Félixby MNW Staff Member, Emma Cherry (3-6 & 6-12 AMI Diploma).

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The Story of Sylvia Acevedo

I am going to tell you a story about a woman named Sylvia Acevedo and how she became an engineer. This is a true story! Sylvia grew up in a place called New Mexico with her parents. Sylvia’s mom was an immigrant from Mexico and her father was from El Paso, Texas. While Sylvia was growing up she and her family spoke Spanish at home. I wonder if anyone else in this room speaks another language with their family. 

Sylvia was a member of a group of people called the Girl Scouts. People who are members of the Girl Scouts can complete certain challenges and tasks that help build their skills! Once you complete a challenge, you can earn special badges to sew onto a green vest. I know some of you know how to sew! Being a member of the Girl Scouts Well, Sylvia was very interested in space, all the stars and planets, she was always looking up into the sky! Sylvia dreamt of sewing the science badge onto her vest, and I want to tell you about how she earned that special science badge. Sylvia decided she would launch a rocket! She had to try many, many times, and with concentration and encouragement from the people around her, Sylvia finally got her rocket off of the ground and she earned the science badge. But…Sylvia didn’t stop there, she decided she wanted to become a rocket scientist! Again, Sylvia faced many challenges along her journey. At one of her jobs there was not even a bathroom for her to use! Sylvia solved that problem by riding her bike to the nearest Women’s bathroom. Everyone around Sylvia realized she wouldn’t take no for an answer and would always do her best to find the solution. 

In fact, Sylvia’s journey is similar to the journey of someone you may have heard of before. Place your hands on your shoulders if you have heard of the name Maria Montessori. Well, Maria Montessori and Sylvia Acevedo were both very smart and brave women. When Maria went to school to become a scientist, she had to wait for all of the men to finish their work in the lab, so that she could complete her studies. Maria was the first woman to graduate from her school in Italy. Sylvia was the first Latina woman to graduate with a degree in engineering from Stanford University in California. Ever since Sylvia’s teacher showed her 4th grade class a picture of Stanford University, she dreamed of going there. Just as before, with hard work and encouragement from the people around her, Sylvia became a student at Stanford where she studied to become an engineer. After a lot of studying, Sylvia graduated and did something amazing… She went to work at NASA! Sylvia, along with other scientists, worked on the Voyager mission that flew by Jupiter.

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Look for more stories in this great resource to learn about and celebrate Hispanic Heritage. Nuestra América: 30 Inspiring Latinas/Latinos Who Have Shaped the United States, Written by Sabrina Vourvoulias, Illustrated by Gloria Félix.